T

he Bird scooters that 
dropped in Ann Arbor 
this 
September 
and 
have 
continued 
to 
flock around campus 
are really akin to 
the common pigeon. 
They 
populate 
the 
sidewalks in droves 
and weave in and 
out 
of 
crowds 
of 
pedestrian students. 
They 
have 
their 
typical nesting areas, 
practically 
stacked 
on top of each other 
outside of the MLB, Ross and 
other places that are just a bit 
too far from the other side of 
campus. City officials have 
tried to control them, but still 
they zip and zoom in every 
direction. They have become, 
at the same time an exciting 
new mode of transportation 
and a menace to society, but 
what Bird riders may not 
realize is how the scooters 
might be feasting on their 
data.
Bird, a startup out of Santa 
Monica, connects its electric 
scooter service to a free app 
on your phone. Once you have 
downloaded the app, uploaded 
your 
payment 
information 
and a snapped a picture of 
your driver’s license, you are 
ready to ride. The rides cost 
$1 per ride plus $0.15 per 
minute and have become a 
source of transportation for 
the awkward “last mile” of 
the urban commute where a 
destination is too far to walk 
yet not far enough to drive. 
Bird’s environmental mission 
is to provide cities with a 
clean, car-free transportation 
alternative.
Though a majority of the 
data 
security 
issues 
that 
I 
have 
written 
about 
are 
tied to the internet and the 
regulation 
of 
firms 
that 
operate on the digital sphere, 
with the prospect of “smart 
cities” and data-driven urban 
planning, it is important that 
we turn our attention to “the 
internet of things.” Simply 
put, this concept is the idea 
of connecting any and every 
possible device to the internet 
to 
streamline 
its 
use 
for 
consumers and more easily 
configure the data for the 
companies that provide the 
service.
Bird doesn’t just collect data 
from mobile phones, however 
— the scooters themselves 
are prodigious data collection 
machines, 
specifically 
for 
highly valuable location data. 
The company automatically 
collects 
the 
precise 
GPS 
location of its scooters, the 
routes riders take and the 
rental status of its scooters. 
The information collected is 
also directly associated with 
a user’s individual account, 
making it possible for Bird 
to “personalize” content for 
a specific user in the form of 
reports, recommendations and 
feedback according to user 
preferences.

In its Privacy Policy, Bird 
makes 
sure 
to 
distinguish 
between 
the 
personalized 
content that they 
provide 
based 
on 
individual 
users 
and 
the 
“anonymous 
or 
aggregate 
information” 
that 
they are able to use 
for “any purpose.” 
The 
personalized 
content establishes 
the 
connection 
between Bird and 
its 
e-scooter 
enthusiasts, 
however, this aggregate data 
is also of huge value to cities, 
developers 
and 
businesses 
vying to apply the analysis 
of 
usage 
patterns 
to 
the 
development of their smart 
city initiatives. The wording 
of “any purpose” also implies 
the wide scope of Bird’s ability 
to use its data in any way it 
wants.

Because Bird claims to be 
playing a role in shaping the 
green cities of tomorrow, it 
should be as open as possible 
with its aggregate data. It 
has actually been pretty good 
about this, providing cities 
with its GovTech platform 
that monitors how citizens 
are 
using 
the 
scooters 
and putting forth possible 
solutions 
for 
unwanted 
activity. 
For 
example, 
geofencing will notify riders 
of locations in a city where 
Birds 
are 
prohibited, 
and 
the Community Mode allows 
individuals to report incidents 
of unsafe activity or poor 
parking.
We should also stop and 
think, despite the supposed 
inherent value of Bird’s data, 
whether scooters really are 
a viable alternative for “last 
mile” 
transportation. 
From 
a sustainability perspective, 
riding 
an 
electric 
scooter 
uses only 1 to 2 percent of 
the carbon dioxide emissions 
that driving a car the same 
distance does. The individual 
consumer 
choice 
is 
never 
that 
simple, 
though, 
and 
Bird introduces extraneous 
costs that the average rider 
doesn’t think about. All the 
scooters have to be rounded 
up by trucks overnight and 
charged by workers with their 
own vehicles. In addition, 
these fun new scooters might 
be replacing lower emission 
options 
such 
as 
walking, 
riding a bike or using public 
transportation. There is just 
not enough data right now 

beyond the extrapolations of 
e-scooter companies to judge 
their long-term environmental 
impact.
Beyond 
aggregate 
data, 
regulators should also curtail 
the amount of unnecessary 
personal 
information 
that 
Bird is collecting from its 
users. Bird uses persistent 
data tracking to record every 
move riders make from the 
moment they get on a scooter 
to the moment they get off, 
meaning that if you took a 
scooter to a protest, a religious 
service or a sensitive medical 
appointment, 
the 
scooter 
would know. Bird is operating 
under the assumption that 
people 
want 
extremely 
personalized experiences on 
their scooters, when in fact 
most riders just use their 
services to get from point A to 
point B.
The 
company 
could 
still de-identify all of the 
precise GPS data and use it 
to achieve the goal of a city 
with fewer cars, but it would 
be hard to convince Bird 
executives to do this because 
the 
data 
would 
suddenly 
lose 
commercial 
value 
to 
advertisers. There is no need 
for the Birds of the future to 
suggest possible destinations 
based on my preferences; I 
am just trying to get to class. 
The data that Bird collects 
might also fall into the hands 
of governments attempting 
to use the technology to 
surveil their citizens. Bird 
says loosely that it shares 
its data based on the “good-
faith” belief that such action 
is necessary to comply with 
the law, leaving this transfer 
of personal data including 
photos and GPS tracking up to 
its discretion.
It also seems that Bird 
doesn’t 
prioritize 
data 
protection 
overall. 
In 
the 
brief section on “How we 
protect your information” in 
its Privacy Policy, Bird says it 
takes measures to protect user 
information while also forcing 
the 
user 
to 
acknowledge 
that Bird cannot guarantee 
the 
transfer 
of 
personal 
information and that it is all 
“at your own risk.” Essentially 
Bird reserves the right to do 
whatever it wants with the 
information you provide, and 
if anything goes wrong it’s 
your problem. The rules are a 
bit more stringent concerning 
international users, especially 
for European Union data on 
subjects 
living 
under 
the 
umbrella of the General Data 
Protection Regulation.
As with any tech startup 
claiming to offer revolutionary 
new services for cheap, the 
value and concern lies in 
data. Scooters are fun, but 
the data security challenges 
surrounding 
them 
could 
become a pest.

Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
4 — Tuesday, November 27, 2018

Emma Chang
Ben Charlson
Joel Danilewitz
Samantha Goldstein
Emily Huhman

Tara Jayaram
Jeremy Kaplan
Lucas Maiman
Magdalena Mihaylova
Ellery Rosenzweig
Jason Rowland

Anu Roy-Chaudhury
Alex Satola
Ali Safawi
Ashley Zhang
Sam Weinberger

DAYTON HARE
Managing Editor

420 Maynard St. 
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
 tothedaily@michigandaily.com

Edited and managed by students at the University of Michigan since 1890.

ALEXA ST. JOHN
Editor in Chief
 ANU ROY-CHAUDHURY AND 
ASHLEY ZHANG
Editorial Page Editors

Unsigned editorials reflect the official position of the Daily’s Editorial Board. 
All other signed articles and illustrations represent solely the views of their authors.

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMBERS

Are Bird Scooters flying away with user data?

ALEX SATOLA | COLUMN

Alexander Satola can be reached at 

apsatola@umich.edu.

W

e lay on the carpet 
floor, our beds, the 
couch, sit around 
the table and sigh. 
Oh, how we long 
to 
be 
in 
loving 
relationships. 
It’s 
that time of year 
when my friends and 
I fantasize about the 
people who we wish 
to meet, the ones 
we are longing after 
and those who were 
just not right for us. 
When will we meet 
someone new who will change 
and impact the rest of our 
lives as we know it? Recently, 
I realized I spend a lot of time 
having conversations with my 
friends about the existing or 
nonexistent romantic partners 
in our lives. 
Sometimes, it’s really fun, 
and we talk about all the 
good things happening with 
those we are seeing or how 
we love our single life. Other 
times, we laugh at each other’s 
horror stories and cry over the 
heartbreak. But either way, my 
friends and I are constantly 
asking 
each 
other 
about 
each other’s love lives and 
relationships or lack thereof. 
This 
Thanksgiving 
Break, 
it was a common part of the 
conversation when catching 
up with friends and family. 
It almost came up more than 
how school was going, my 
social life or my career and 
post-graduation plans.
I wasn’t shocked my friends 
and family brought it up, 
because I often ask them the 
same. 
There 
is 
something 
exciting 
about 
learning 
about the emotional lives of 
our loved ones. But people 
tend to only pique interest 
in this type of relationship. 
For example, wouldn’t it be 
ridiculous if my family or 
friends talked about my best 
friendships with the same 
seriousness as they would 
about romantic relationships? 
For 
instance, 
imagine 
if 
they asked if my friend was 
meeting my emotional needs, 
how our communication was 
and if I saw our friendship 

long-term. It sounds pretty 
silly, and it shows how much 
interest we have in romantic 
relationships.
Our 
society 
highly 
values 
these 
romantic 
relationships, 
and lately I have 
been noticing the 
pressure we get from 
our media to have 
these 
experiences. 
There 
is 
the 
classic narrative in 
romantic comedies 
and 
princess 
stories 
of 
heteronormativity, where a 
man shows up solving all of 
the woman’s problems and 
they can now be happy for the 

rest of their lives. This could 
be a driving force in why 
women feel like they should 
want to be in a relationship 
and why we are all so obsessed 
with 
talking 
about 
these 
relationships. 
Women 
have 
been taught to think being 
in a relationship is going to 
complete us and make our 
lives better. We are taught we 
can only see our worth if there 
is a man present, which gives 
men a lot of power.
Romantic 
and 
sexual 
relationships are important 
because they can add some 
positivity to life, like having 
someone who is there for you, 
who lifts you up and is your 
partner at the end of the day. 
But one’s problems are not 
going to be solved because one 
now has this partner. Also, in 
romantic comedies the female 
characters are very dependent 
on 
the 
male 
characters. 
Our media needs to portray 
confident independent women 

who make things happen and 
do not wait for a man. Women 
who put their needs, wants, 
passions and careers before 
the subject of their love life.
I know this is a common 
feminist rant about seeing 
more 
complex 
storylines 
for women and created by 
women. But the only way we 
are going to see a change in 
the content that is created 
is 
if 
these 
storylines 
are 
created by the people who 
actually 
experience 
them. 
Ultimately, if men with the 
power are creating the media 
women consume, they are 
fostering 
this 
obsession 
with relationships and the 
expectation 
of 
what 
we 
should be. We need to see 
more storylines about young 
women who do more than just 
fall in love. Women deserve 
to learn from a narrative 
that their interests, passions, 
careers and who they are as 
a person are so much more 
important than if they are in a 
relationship.
I see my friends and me 
falling into toxic conversations 
during which we discuss our 
relationships 
first 
before 
we even bring up anything 
about ourselves. We all have 
other things happening in 
our lives that have so much 
more importance, which we 
should be highlighting and 
sharing with one another. 
Relationships are crucial and 
fun to talk about, but so are 
our friendships; these should 
be equally as important to our 
romantic relationships.
This 
cuffing 
season, 
let’s try to not get caught 
up in the toxic messages 
and 
conversations 
about 
relationships. Let’s focus on 
bettering ourselves. Let’s talk 
about our present and future 
goals, passions, interests and 
careers. When you are ready 
to be with someone, make 
sure that they complement 
the already amazing life you 
have and the person you are 
without them.

ELLERY ROSENZWEIG | COLUMN

Relationship remixed

Ellery Rosenzweig can be reached at 

erosenz@umich.edu.

ELLERY 

ROSENZWEIG

CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION

Readers are encouraged to submit letters to the editor and op-eds. 
Letters should be fewer than 300 words while op-eds should be 550 
to 850 words. Send the writer’s full name and University affiliation to 
tothedaily@michigandaily.com.

We are taught we 
can only see our 
worth if there is a 
man present.

— Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in a statement defending the federal 
judciary after President Trump called a judge “an Obama judge”

“

NOTABLE QUOTABLE

We do not have Obama judges 
or Trump judges, Bush judges or 
Clinton judges. What we have is an 
extraordinary group of dedicated 
judges doing their level best to 
do equal right to those appearing 
before them. ”

ALEX 
SATOLA

It seems that Bird 
doesn’t prioritize 
data protection 
overall.

JILLIAN LI | CONTACT JILLIAN AT LIJILLI@UMICH.EDU

